You might love the nightlife in New York, but according to a state judge, you cannot necessarily boogie on the disco round.
State Supreme Court Justice Michael Stallman found that the city’s cabaret law — which requires special licenses for establishments that want to offer their patrons food, booze and recreational booty-shaking opportunities — is, in fact, constitutional, the Associated Press reports.
But don’t tell that to the Gotham West Coast Swing Club.
They claim that any law that bars them from busting a move infringes on their right to free expression. They say they should be allowed to cut a rug in any bar or restaurant in the city whenever the spirit moves them — not just in the cabarets.
But the judge wasn’t buying it.
He said dancing is not constitutionally protected expression, and it’s perfectly legal for the city to regulate which restaurants have the right to allow patrons to get footloose (and kick off their Sunday shoes).
He did, however, suggest that the city should consider amending the Prohibition-era law that’s preventing people from shaking what they’ve got on the spot — wherever that might be.
"Surely the Big Apple is big enough to find a way to let people dance," he said.
SEATTLE (AP) — College basketball fans may have been surprised to turn on their computers Monday morning and find an e-mail from Amazon.com Inc. proclaiming, "UCLA Wins."
The online retailer mistakenly sent the e-mail to customers ahead of the NCAA championship game Monday night between the Florida Gators and the UCLA Bruins.
The body of the e-mail included the message "Congratulations (placeholder for winning team)," and went on to offer customers the chance to purchase an NCAA cap and other goods.
"I don't know if we had some Bruins who were wishful thinking," Amazon.com spokeswoman Patty Smith said, adding, "Clearly, it was a mistake."
Florida won the championship game.
A Whole World of Concrete
AUBURN, Maine (AP) — Termites wouldn't like the house that Mike Mercier has built.
Mercier built his house out of concrete — 85 yards of it. From the outside, the new 2,300-square-foot ranch-style home doesn't look a lot different from most. The basement and foot-thick exterior walls are made of concrete — but so are the floors, windowsills, countertops and end tables.
Mercier and his wife are often asked if their bed is concrete. It is not.
Mercier, who has run a concrete contracting business for three decades, said he got the idea of building a concrete house from an exhibit he visited at a World of Concrete convention.
Construction involved no wood framing or plywood, just windows, siding and interior Sheetrock. Hollow foam blocks were stacked and angled inside the walls before concrete was pumped around it. Even some of the furniture inside is molded concrete.
"The end tables are so cute," said Sue Mercier.
The walls are so soundproof that the Merciers' dog has a hard time hearing people come up the driveway now.
Such a home is energy efficient, because foam and concrete homes use less oil to heat, Mercier said. But a concrete home costs 10-15 percent more to build than a traditional wood-frame home, he added.
Truck Festooned With Stolen Goods + Empty Gas Tank = D'oh!
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The thieves who police say broke into a middle school last night managed to fill their car with audio-visual equipment.
What they didn't fill their car with was gas, and that was their undoing.
Police say the incident began late last night when several suspects broke into Bradley Middle School and loaded the back of a pickup truck with audiovisual equipment. Authorities say they drove off, apparently headed for Charlotte.
About an hour later, several residents on Belhaven Drive reported that someone knocked on their doors, asking for gas money and saying his pickup truck had run out of gas. This was about 10 miles from the school.
One resident called police, who found the truck as well as the items apparently taken from the school.
Police are looking for two more suspects in the case.
Thanks to Out There reader Jennifer H.
Preachy Pistol Pete Loses Pants, Goes to the Pen
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Clarksville police say they answered a complaint call about a man firing a gun and preaching.
Police responded to the call and found Jonifer Jerome Jackson with a Bible in one hand and a nine millimeter pistol in the other.
The officers say the 20-year-old Clarksville man told them he didn't intend to hurt anyone, but he believed shooting the pistol was the only way to get people to listen to his preaching, shortly before noon on Sunday.
After police arrived, they say Jackson stripped to his boxer shorts for no apparent reason.
Police found razor blades and a steak knife in his clothing.
He was jailed in lieu of $50,000 bail, charged with illegally carrying a deadly weapon and reckless endangerment, for shooting the pistol into the air.
Thanks to Out There reader Matt A.
The Picture on My New Hi-Def 60-Inch Oven Door Is Sweet!
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — A rash of oven-door thefts may be linked to a recent case in which a woman bought what she thought was a flat-screen TV, only to discover that the package held an old oven door, police said.
South Bend detective Sgt. Jim Walsh said police arrested a suspect Thursday they believe sold the door to the woman. Police said an oven door and packaging materials were found in the trunk of the man's car.
Oven doors are an increasingly hot item in burglaries targeting vacant properties. Walsh said oven doors were among the items stolen in five recent burglaries.
Police have had two reports of the doors being sold as flat-screen TVs, and it's likely that others went unreported by the embarrassed buyers, Walsh said. Officers are investigating at least two other suspects who may be disguising oven doors and selling them.
Walsh said it's risky to buy products off the street, particularly without opening the package first.
In the case of the bilked woman, she was approached by the suspect Feb. 20 at her workplace with an offer of a flat-screen TV for $500. The suspect settled for $300. But when the woman unwrapped the packaging, she found a cord, a controller — and an oven door.
Thanks to Out There reader Steven C.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Taylor Timmins.
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